I thought I’d write a post on whether intelligence can outsmart passion within the workplace. Evidently, both are essential as there's little point in having one and not the other: but firstly...

What is intelligence? (IQ) and Why is it important?

When I talk about IQ, I am discounting emotional quotient and personable characteristics, as these tend to lend themselves more towards your background and social situation rather than pure intellectual ability. I accept that these are considered to be forms of intelligence, however, this post is only concerned with academic intelligence.

Intelligence in the pure form is a necessity for most jobs - however dull or brain dead they may seem. Basic literacy and numeracy are the foundations of intelligence but with increasing short supply of high-tier jobs, it won’t even get you close to that door you so desperately want to get your foot inside. High intelligence is what recruiters are after and it’s important for the following reasons:

Helps you make better choices

It’s how you come across to the world

Increases efficiency and productivity

To make better sense and use of the world

Ultimately, there is money to be made in knowledge and intelligence but the drive often stops once the task at hand is complete. The same is not true of passion...

What is passion? Why it is more important than intelligence!

Passionate people are fundamentally different. They have a different way of working, an open mindset and they work for different reasons. Without passion for whatever it is they do, “passionites” as I like to call them would not be anywhere near as successful as they are and more to the point, more successful than academics. But why are they more successful? well...

Passionate people stick it out through hard times: When the going gets tough, a passionate person will always find a way around the problem, or push through to the end.

They are perfectionists - In the eyes of a passionite “good enough” is never good enough. The drive to achieve more than they know is manageable is what keeps them going - and clearly it works.

They nerd out on everything - The desire to push their limits leads to taking on every opportunity in their reach to enrich themselves and take on new challenges.

They achieve more - why? Because they have an intrinsic drive. They love what they do and they do what they love. It’s a positive cycle of fulfilment.

They’re more productive - In an ADHD-esque way, they hyperfocus on the things they love with nothing but 100% devotion to their task allowing passionate people to do what they do very successfully. This also has a domino effect.

They have better balance - Well... not really balance but limitless energy and enthusiasm for everything puts them in a great position to make better relationships, decisions that suit their needs and there becomes nothing that can tear them apart from what they love doing.

Much like talent, passion can be considered a gift only given to an elusive group of people but if you can find yours (more on finding passion in another post) you will be fixed on a path to success and balance in your life.

I am a NATIVE British Writer specialising in website and blog content of an informative and promotional nature. I now have over 80 pieces of sample work across a variation of writing forms. These range from articles and blog posts; to product descriptions and reviews, and longer web content. I also have experience in transcriptions with companies such as KPMG.
My goal is to aid businesses and ind...